Escaping From Reality

Generally, I'd say the phrase is used with a negative connotation.  People who escape from reality are being irresponsible, shirking their duties.  They neglect what they should be doing in favor of some kind of fantasy, often reached with the aid of chemical substances.  Yes, it can be used in a more favorable light, like advertising vacation destinations, but the phrase tends to go something more like "escape from daily life" or "escape from drudgery" in those cases.

The source of the topic began by saying what she really meant was escaping from ourselves, which isn't quite the same.  But, each person has a reality that is perceived individually, something that isn't sharable with others, so in a certain sense escaping from our reality implies escaping from ourselves.  She also mentioned drugs in passing, saying that she had been struck by an exhibit on primitive cultures which used psychotropic drugs, finally asking if there is an inherent need to escape sometimes that manifests in all human beings.

The Expert reaffirmed the idea of individual reality, explaining that brain scans show different reactions in different brains to the same stimuli.  He also insisted that the word reality defines an undefinable thing, that our realities are as much invented by language as interpreted by our senses.  Of course, being invented does not mean under our conscious control, so it's not at all unbelievable that many people have realities they hate, and escaping from them is a survival strategy more than a weakness.

We were then ready to examine the difference between objective and subjective reality, ready in the sense of wondering, not so much in reaching conclusions.  There is an objective reality, to the extent that there is a generally agreed upon version of interpretations of the space we exist in and our interactions with it; our subjective reality, on the other hand, is what we cannot share, so it is the one we might escape from.  We cannot literally escape an objective, physical reality, but we might change our perception or interpretations of our subjective reality.  In most cases, this is done to escape problems that we can't solve, or are too overwhelmed to solve at the moment.  In many cases, this is done through the use of perception altering substances, controlled or easily obtained.  However, to return to other cultures, it was mentioned that in those societies with shamans or similar figures, the use of mind altering drugs was not done as an escape, but as an enhancement of reality.  Most of us are aware that human perception is limited, and some people try to open doors that are normally closed to us through the use of various chemicals.  Of course, not everybody in those societies was thought capable of handling that amount of stimulation or knowledge, so the use of these drugs was left for ceremony rather than recreation.  I wouldn't be surprised that they had recreational substances too, but probably not so powerful.

A few comments came out that were fairly harsh with regards to drug use.  The question arose about why we should care what other people do if what they do doesn't cause us harm, and there wasn't really a clear answer.  I suppose it's another topic.

Only our Gracious Host wondered aloud about the origins of the drive to escape, saying that excessively high expectations have a lot to do with it.  Our disappointments make us want to change our realities, that is our surroundings rather than ourselves.

I wondered what the connection was between escape from reality and flat denial of it.  One thing is people using fantasy and medication to remove themselves from the path of problems or difficulties, but it's another to steadfastly deny the effects of reality simply because you don't like them.  More than an escape from reality, this is creating a new reality without the disappointments and inconveniences of the old one.  Others said that although escape is a denial of reality, there is also the need to recognize different levels of reality.  Most people in their escape do not retreat to some fantasy that is completely fabricated and separate from any possible creation or agreement from another individual.  In many cases, retreating to another level does not change how we interact with others, except possibly those who are the cause of our retreat:  I didn't get the job because the HR director has a grudge against me, not because I have bad references.  That is a denial of reality, but not one that significantly affects the realities of others, unless somebody is depending on me to get that job.  Along those same lines, the idea was introduced that our present reality is based on memories, and we can be selective about the memories we maintain.  While there are no active alterations in the past, what we remember shapes the present and we can, in fact, escape an unpleasant past reality by carefully keeping only the memories that are to our advantage.

It was then brought out that acceptance of pain and suffering as a reality was an acceptance of authority also.  Those who questioned the negative parts of their reality were not only attacking unpleasant experiences, they were attacking the authority that allowed this reality to exist.  At the same time, denying reality is easily a manipulation of it, and of other people who just want answers or an easier way of dealing with their lives.  We were reminded that philosophy began as a way of examining and defining reality, but became a tool to control it, or at least the perception of it.  The most important thing we can do with regard to reality is identify bad reality, so that it can be changed and remove the necessity of escape.